USDA and LSU Embark on New Sugarcane
Drainage Research

BATON ROUGE, La. , May 10--The
USDA's Agricultural Research Service and
Louisiana State University
Agricultural Center today begin a long-term research project to evaluate
pump-enhanced underground drainage for sugarcane fields as a tool for
preventing farm chemical run-off.

"Sugarcane growers are coming under increasing pressure to reduce the
amount of nitrogen fertilizer and other farm chemicals leaving their fields and
entering streams and lakes," said ARS agricultural engineer James L. Fouss,
who heads the project for the agency's
Soil and Water
Research Unit in Baton Rouge. "A controlled subsurface drainage system
allows rainwater to infiltrate the soil and thus reduces runoff from the land,
so agrochemicals and topsoil stay in the field where they belong."

The
project will allow scientists to evaluate water run off rates from fields with
traditionally farmed crops compared to the new method. This could help
sugarcane growers learn how well their familiar practices work in pollution
control.

"The project will be conducted on a 16-acre site at the university's
Sugarcane Research Station in St. Gabriel, La.," said
Larry Rogers, vice
chancellor and experiment station director of LSU's Ag Center. "Today,
area sugarcane growers will have an opportunity to tour the site, see
subsurface drains installed and ask questions of researchers from ARS and
LSU."

Two-thirds of the research site will have the subsurface drainage
system of corrugated plastic pipe--allowing for improved drainage to remove
excess soil-water, but also allowing the water back into the soil by
sub-irrigation. The remainder of the site will use only traditional surface
drainage.

There has been some resistance to the technology because of the expense to
install such a system--$450 an acre. But growers are also aware that the
pumping system enhances yields and that it would also protect them from getting
their harvesting equipment stuck in mud during rainy growing seasons. The
environmental protection, however, may be an added reason for growers to
consider this irrigation and drainage technology. An agricultural economist
will be part of the project's team and will explore ways to make its use more
cost effective.